AJMER: Pakistan prime minister, Raja Parvez Ashraf, on Saturday offered prayers at the historic dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti during a private visit that was marked by protests. The brief trip of 62-year-old Ashraf to the 13th-century shrine hit a sour note following a boycott by the dargah's spiritual head to protest the recent brutal killing and beheading of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani Army.

Opposing the Pakistan premier's visit that was marked by tight security, local lawyers, some BJP activists and representatives of markets associations staged protests and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans. After he offered "chadar"— a ceremonial cloth inscribed with religious verses — and floral tributes, Ashraf prayed for peace in the world and prosperity in Pakistan.

"Me and my family members are fortunate to get the opportunity to visit the dargah. I thank you Garib nawaz. I wish for peace in the world and for peace and prosperity in Pakistan," Ashraf wrote in Urdu in the visitors book. Ashraf, on a short visit to India, along with his wife Nusrat and more than 20 others, including his relatives, offered prayers at the Dargah and stayed inside the historic shrine for about 30 minutes.

He was assisted by the khadims in his prayers. Clad in a cream-coloured sherwani and a white and round cap, Ashraf carried a 42-metre multicoloured velvet chadar and flowers on his head for offering it to the Sufi saint's mausoleum where a "ziyarat" was performed by his family khadim Syed Bilal Chisti.

Turban tying (dastarbandi) was another ceremony that took place in the shrine. Tight security arrangements were in place in view of threats by advocates to protest the visit and over 1,000 police personnel guarded the entire stretch from the helipad to the Dargah.

Police used mild force to disperse a group of advocates who had gathered at Favvara circle to show black flags to the prime minister in his way back to the Ghughra helipad. The VVIP cavalcade, however, passed through a different route and reached the helipad, police said. Meanwhile, the BJP welcomed the decision of Ajmer Sharif dargah diwan, Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, to boycott Ashraf's visit to the Sufi shrine.

"It is a good decision which reflects thinking of our citizens," said senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu. The dargah spiritual head had said that he will boycott Ashraf's visit in protest of "beheading" of an Indian soldier by Pakistani army along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.